The Indian grape season is in full swing and although there were some devastating losses due to rains earlier, the overall volumes exported for one specific exporter has remained similar to last year. Prices, however, seem to be better than they were last season, especially for the growers.
India has had a bit of a rollercoaster when it comes to the grape season this year. According to Shaik Abdul Ali, managing director for Indian fruit exporter Monsoon Green Earth Farms, the rains had a significant impact on the season: “The grape season is still ongoing and the production quality as well as volumes went well during the month of March. With the rains destroying a lot of crops before March, about 20% of the production area was affected. This has led to heavy losses to growers.”
Luckily last month was a lot better in terms of volumes, Ali explains. “The overall volumes that we will export will actually be similar to last season, despite the rains. We expect to transport about 5000 containers to Europe and another 1000 containers to the United Kingdom. This season, the prices are fairer. However, it’s a sad point that the industry is not running in a sustainable way in terms of pricing. Sudden drops due to false sentiments of volumes lead to heavy losses to suppliers and growers. Unfortunately, nobody cares about the growers in terms of minimum guaranteed price, which may lead to a food production gap in the long term, causing worldwide disaster.”
The season isn’t over just yet though, as there is still about a month of hard work ahead of Monsoon Green Farms: “We still have a way to go. Due to the higher temperatures, my estimate that the season will end by around week 16. And we’ve had some challenges the past week, with the blocking of the Suez Canal some of our shipments that were supposed to arrive in week 14/15 have been delayed. Also, as Covid-19 infections in India increase, packhouses are operating at lesser capacity, which will lower export volumes for the next few weeks.” Ali concludes.
For more information:
Shaik Abdul Ali
Monsoon Green Earth Farms
Tel: +918978046158
Email: abdulalis@mgefarms.com
www.mgefarms.com